Nico Müller proud of efforts despite missing out

Nico Müller insisted he was proud of his efforts during the 2020 DTM season, despite falling just shy of taking the championship title in the Hockenheim season finale.

The Team Abt Sportsline driver headed into the weekend looking to try and overhaul defending champion René Rast in the standings and was able to bring the gap between the pair down with victory in Saturday’s race.

Qualifying on Sunday would see Müller lose ground as he could only manage fourth on the grid whilst Rast took pole, although it wouldn’t take long when the lights went out for the pair to be battling for the win on track.

Although Müller held the lead after the mandatory tyre change, Rast was on better tyres after making his stop later, and having swept ahead, he went on to secure what was ultimately a comfortable race win – wrapping up the title in the process.

Second place for Müller still capped off a fine season for the Swiss driver, who took six wins and would end the campaign having scored 80 points more than he did in finishing as runner-up twelve months ago.

However, the 28-year-old admitted it was hard to put his feelings into words having missed out on his dream of taking the title.

“It’s very difficult to discuss my emotions after such a race and on a day like this,” he said. “I knew it would be difficult to beat René but you never stop believing right until the end, and when you cross the line and haven’t achieved what you have worked so hard for, it is tough.

“René deserves the title as he has done a mega job this season and we have paid the price for a few mistakes. It’s a tough day but there are a lot of things that we can be proud of this season, and we have made some good memories with these wonderful cars.”